1. Field of the Invention:
This invention lies in the field of manufacturing large-surface area silicon crystal bodies for use in solar cells.
2. Prior Art:
A method involving crystallizing molten silicon in a carrier net was proposed in the German patent application P No. 33 05 933.0. In this method, a horizontal carrier member consisting of a net-like graphite fabric and bearing sintered silicon bodies generally matched to the dimensions of the carrier member is moved through a heater arrangement, whereby the sintered silicon bodies disposed above the carrier member are caused to melt and the molten silicon is caused to crystallize in the meshes of the carrier member. The method serves for the continuous manufacture of silicon tapes for solar cells.
A problem occurs in the practice of this method because contaminants which can exist in the silicon network diffuse into the silicon crystal lattice as a consequence of the incorporation of the graphite net into the silicon, and these contaminants deteriorate the crystal quality as well as the electrical properties of the solar cells fabricated with the resulting silicon crystal bodies.